President Obama To Sign Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal This Morning

The bill, which was passed by the House last Wednesday and the Senate on Saturday, was certified by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday in a ceremony that was attended by hundreds of supporters, including gay servicemembers.

The new law will, eventually, end the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers. The policy will be repealed 60 days after Obama, Defense Secretary Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen all certify that the military is ready for repeal. That won't happen until the military completes its implementation plan, which includes extensive training and education for all branches of the armed forces.

Obama vowed to repeal DADT during his State of the Union address this year. In February, Gates and Mullen testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that they both personally believed that the 17-year-old law should be repealed and announced that the Pentagon would undertake a long-term study into how best to implement repeal.

The review was released on Nov. 30. The Senate had already tried and failed to pass a defense spending bill with repeal attached over the summer, but it was again blocked by Republicans this month who wanted more amendments on the massive bill.

Repeal, which was still attached to the defense spending bill, then got caught up in the whirlwind of lame duck legislation. Republican senators vowed not to vote for any bill before tax cuts and a government spending bill were passed. When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid brought it to the floor anyway, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a repeal advocate who had been negotiating with Reid for days, balked. Collins argued that Reid was still not allowing enough amendments to the bill.